Re: Tail Between the Legs

: : I need to find the orgin of these phrases:
: : Tail Between the Legs
: : It Will Be An Uphill Battle

: - "Tail between the legs" describes the body language of a dog that has been defeated in an encounter with a stonger dog - it runs or slinks off with its tail between its legs. It is a very old metaphor, based on common observation, and there's no way of knowing who said it first.

: - In pre-modern warfare, when armies fought hand-to-hand, you had an advantage if you could charge downhill at your enemy, as the slope would give your charge extra impetus. If on the other hand it was your enemy who was at the top of the hill, you had to "fight an uphill battle" which was much harder. Again, this is a common metaphor and nobody knows who first used it.

It's also harder to shoot arrows, swing your sword, etc. with someone who's above you. With a sword, you have to swing up at an angle lifting the sword higher than you would if fighting on level ground. This requires more force to get the same strengh blow while your opponent gets to add the weight of the sword into his downward blow.